14/07/2017 BBC News at Ten

After a string of acid attacks in London, two boys aged 15

Victims were left bewildered and in agony, as five separate

assaults were carried out in under 90 minutes.

I took off my helmet and I'm screaming for help because it's

getting dry and as much as it's getting dry, it's burning.

With the number of acid attacks on the rise,

we'll be asking what can be done to prevent them.

A modern musical welcome in Paris from one President to another.

Now it seems they're the firmest of friends.

Jailed for 17 years - the former TV producer who tried

to hire three hitmen to kill his long-term partner.

The families taking part in an international trial

to try to find a way of treating dementia.

Roger Federer wins his semi-final in straight sets, leaving him now

one win from a historic eighth Wimbledon title.

And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News, Rory McIlroy heads into next

week's Open Championship on the back of a third missed cut

in four events, this time at the Scottish Open.

Two teenagers have been arrested after a string of acid attacks

Five people in separate incidents had acid thrown in their faces,

causing in the case of one man "life-changing" injuries.

The attacks happened amid rising concern about the number

of assaults in the capital involving corrosive fluids.

The attacks were carried out at five separate locations in east London

within the space of less than 90 minutes.

This report, from our Home Affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford,

contains some disturbing images from the start.

In the aftermath of an acid attack last night...

We need to try to get water in your eyes.

Police officers desperately trying to reduce the burning

I just jumped away from my bike and I just ran.

Tonight, the victim of that attack, Javed Hussain, told me

that the first help he received was from a passer-by.

I said, look, someone put acid on my face.

She was shocked, she was trying to call an ambulance.

If you call an ambulance, it's going to be long,

I need water now on my face because it's hurting, it's burning.

She ran to the Co-operative and she got one of the bottles of water.

The attack here turned out to be the first of five over

the next hour and a quarter, all in a small area of east London

and all involving acid being thrown at the victims.

At every crime scene the target had been driving mopeds.

A 24-year-old man here in Clapton was left with life changing injuries

The Prime Minister said the attacks were horrific.

Police have arrested a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old.

National statistics on acid attacks are not collated by the Home Office

but in London they have risen from 129 two years ago to 224 last

year, and by April this year there have already been another 66.

One of the most high profile recent attacks was last month

when 21-year-old Resham Khan and her cousin, Jameel Muhktar,

were targeted whilst sitting in their car at a traffic light.

We are concerned because the numbers appear to be going up.

We will arrest people, we will enforce the law as we can

and we are working very closely with the Home Office

to see if there are any changes in law required.

Stephen Timms is one of the MPs in east London

He has been campaigning for a change in the law and will lead a debate

I'd like the Minister to confirm on Monday that the possession

of acid will be an offence in the future in exactly the same

way that possession of a knife is an offence today.

I would like the law to be changed so that sulphuric acid will only be

It seems likely that some criminals are using the laxer rules on acid

to avoid the tough laws on carrying a knife.

The Home Office today said it was working with police

and retailers to tackle what it called these sickening crimes.

But any change in the law would take time.

USA that changes would take time but are they likely? -- you say that.

There is no doubt there is a discrepancy between the punishment

for carrying a knife and for carrying a bottle of acid and while

knives are more likely to kill you, a bottle of acid in the face can

cause life changing damage to your eyes or scars to your face. There is

an argument being made at the moment that you should essentially make it

illegal to be carrying any acid as you walk around the street unless

you have a very good reason. There is also an argument as you saw Von

Stephen Timms that it should be much more difficult to buy one of the

most dangerous of the commonly used acids, sulphuric acid and perhaps it

should only be available to people who can prove they work in

specialist areas. But governments are quite wary about quickly

changing the law in response to emerging crime trends. There is a

law that already exists with says that possession of a corrosive

substance with intent to cause harm would be a crime and that could be

used more often. If somebody throws acid into the face of somebody else

they could be prosecuted for grievous bodily harm with intent

which carries a life sentence so perhaps ministers want to see those

kinds of offences used more but they are in discussions with police and

retailers and a law change is possible but I don't think it is

inevitable. Thank you. President Trump has described

America's relationship with France as "stronger than ever"

as he attended the Bastille Day The parade marked a hundred years

since the Americans entered the First World War,

but events have also been held to remember the 86 people

killed in the Nice attack, Our Paris correspondent

Lucy Williamson reports. France today celebrated it long US

alliance with a series of increasingly forceful handshakes

between the heads of state. This event was not about the ties between

men but between nations. Joining the Armed Forces from both America and

France, beginning with a fly past of visiting fighter jets. Their

soldiers also led the parade together in a tribute to their role

in world War I. The US is an ally of theirs, I know sometimes we don't

think so but France was there for us and we are the for them. I did not

vote for president from but he is our president and we are proud to

have him here. Speaking to the crowd in central Paris, Mr Macron thanked

the US for the choice it had made a century ago and said that France and

America would never be divided. The France of today was honoured as

well with a military band playing music by Daft Punk. Enjoyed by some

in the audience, perhaps more than others. France's changing culture

mirrored in this parade, accompanied by changing security threats as

well. The image of France's security forces has changed in the past few

years, repeated terrorist attacks have refocused attention on security

at home and the values that France has chosen to protect. The ceremony

ended with the city and some of Nice, the scene of the country's

last major terrorist attack a year ago today. In Nice, the tributes

honoured those who died in the attack, killed by a truck driven

into Bastille Day crowds. Their names, 86 of them, pinned by

survivors into the shape of a heart. This afternoon President Macron flew

from Paris to join the commemorations. The fight against

terrorism was a battle for our civilisation, he said. The events

here today were still haunted by debates over how best to guarantee

security as the country once again paid tribute to its values, its

history, to the idea of France. Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris.

A former producer on the TV drama The Bill has been sentenced to 17

years in prison for trying to hire a series of hit men to kill

David Harris, who's 68, offered three men ?200,000

to murder his partner, Hazel Allinson.

He wanted to inherit her fortune and start a new life with a woman

David Harris was with his partner, Hazel, for 30 years,

but unknown to her, he also had a girlfriend, Ugne Cekaviciute,

To keep her and get rid of Hazel, Harris went looking to hire not one,

not two, but three hit men, all of whom were completely innocent

Harris first approached Christopher May, a private

detective, who secretly recorded Harris, suggesting Hazel

should be killed after a visit to the hospital.

Harris then made this chilling comment.

When Christopher May backed out, Harris turned to Duke Dean.

The pair were seen here meeting in London.

Mr Dean told me Harris offered him ?175,000 to kill Hazel.

Did you get the impression he was serious about getting rid of Hazel?

Duke Dean tipped off police, who then used an undercover officer

When Harris was arrested he told police that all he was doing

The judge rejected that today, saying his real intention

was to kill Hazel and get his hands on her money.

David Harris and Hazel Allinson did have happy times,

but his obsession with another woman, 40 years younger,

led him to push three men to kill, to satisfy his lust,

Dementia in old age is the biggest cause of death in the UK.

But in some families, extremely rare gene mutations

can cause Alzheimer's disease in middle-age.

Now, experts believe that studying the way the disease develops in such

families could hold the key to treatment in the future.

There are currently thought to be around 500,000 people in the UK

It's thought that in around 1% of cases, the disease

is a genetic inheritance, passed down through the family.

Those who inherit Alzheimer's often develop it in their 40s and 50s.

Our medical correspondent Fergus Walsh spoke to two families

with a history of Alzheimer's, both of whom are taking

I'm almost just waiting for the first sign, really.

The minute you forget something, the minute you can't

Sophie Leggett from Suffolk has a 50-50 chance of having inherited

She is now around the same age symptoms first emerged

And if Sophie has the early-onset gene, she could also

I can almost cope with the thought that it could happen to me

but what I can't cope with is the thought that

if it happens to me, it could happen to my daughter.

That's my big thing and I don't think I will ever come to terms

But what does her 16-year-old daughter think?

It's not like a taboo thing to talk about.

I think it's brought us closer together.

We've always been close but closer and I think just

Families from all over the world who carry rare

Alzheimer's genes are in London for a major conference.

Dean has early-onset Alzheimer's but is still able to work full-time.

Yeah, I just live day by day with it and keep moving on.

Two of Dean's brothers and a sister died from dementia in their mid-50s.

We are here because we don't want to watch another generation

have to go through what my husband and his father and his

I worry for my husband, but that fear of the unknown our for

Dean's son, Tyler, has been tested for the faulty gene but,

like Sophie, has chosen not to know the results.

If you find out, it's not only are you finding out,

it's your family finding out and the repercussions

Both families are part of an international trial

They are playing a vital role in the search for treatments.

From them we understand the biomarkers, the changes

in the body that happen, so you can see the disease before it

And finally from them, hopefully we will find a treatment

that works in that group and we can therefore extrapolate

that to the Alzheimer's population in general.

There is still no drug which can slow the focus

In the past year alone two major clinical trials ended in failure.

Despite that there is now real optimism that decades

And for families with Alzheimer's genes, that would lift a shadow

Local officials in Egypt say two German women have been stabbed

to death at a hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Four more foreign tourists were wounded in the attack.

Our Middle East correspondent Orla Guerin is in Cairo for us tonight.

Give us a bit more detail about what happened.

Tonight, British Embassy officials here in Cairo are telling me there

are still no indications that any British people were caught up in the

attack, but what we saw today, once again, was foreign tourists being

targeted on a Middle Eastern beach, and for some in Britain, there will

be painful echoes of the horrors inch in his ear in 2015, when 30

British people were killed. A lone attacker swam ashore today, stabbed

two women repeatedly, and let them to die on the sand. Local officials

say he managed to swim to the adjoining beach and continued his

attack, wounding several more tourists, and only then was he

arrested. There has been no claim of responsibility, but suspicion will

fall on the so-called Islamic State. They are carrying out an insurgency

from neighbouring northern Sinai. You will remember they claimed

responsibility for the downing of a Russian aircraft that had just taken

off from the red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh. It devastated the tourism

industry here. It had begun to recover and visitor numbers were up

by about 50% in the first quarter of this year. Now, for many, there will

be renewed concern about visiting Egypt. The Foreign Office advice is

quite nuanced here, and there is no blanket ban on visiting the country.

The FCO says it is quite likely that terrorists will try to carry out

attacks and encourages vigilance. There is still a ban on any British

aircraft flying to and from Sharm El Sheikh, and that remains in place.

A High Court judge has heard that the American doctor who has

offered to treat the terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard is to come

Charlie's parents want him to receive experimental therapy.

They have been involved in a lengthy legal battle with doctors

at Great Ormond Street Hospital, who believe life support

Douglas Innes, the boss of a sailing company,

has been found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of a yacht

The 40-foot Cheeki Rafiki lost its keel 700 miles off

Nova Scotia three years ago, killing all four of its crew.

Two Israeli police officers have died after Israeli Arab gunmen

opened fire near a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem's Old City.

The assailants were killed by security forces.

The attack prompted Israeli officials to cancel Friday prayers

All this week, we've been reporting on China's plan to recreate

the famous Silk Road, the ancient trading route

The ambitious project will mean building infrastructure

President Xi Jinping says it will boost trade,

But critics say that China's markets are far from open,

and that the project will benefit Beijing at the expense

Our China editor, Carrie Gracie, has been following the 7000-mile

Facing west since the end of the Soviet era but eastern Europe

is becoming a key piece in China's strategic jigsaw.

Wieslaw and his son would never sell Polish land to Chinese investors.

He explains they are actually trying to expand, hoping to sell dairy

products to wealthy Chinese consumers who think

China could be a big new market for European milk,

but it's a long and complicated journey from here to

It's a journey Wieslaw wants to risk, as dairy

TRANSLATION: China is a very big and interesting market for us

But China's markets are still far from open.

And since the global financial crisis, it has mopped up cheap

Now China wants to build here and control supply chains.

A big idea driven by the state, not the market.

Some economists warn that could be risky.

When this is planned by the state agencies and it's going to be

implemented by state agencies, then my worry is that it's

going to end up with huge amounts of bad loans with dozens

China's plan is already on the assembly line.

This Polish factory once made tanks for the Soviet bloc.

Now, it makes diggers for the Chinese state company that

Hou Yubo hopes China's new Silk Road will turn it around.

We don't see the mass of orders yet and we are ready for that

So no real difference to the bottom line yet?

The customers will have the need for machines, but not yet.

Europe's bid for China is still in neutral,

while China is moving up a gear here,

either digging Europe out of a hole or digging that hole deeper.

And you can see the final part of Carrie's journey

on the Ten O'Clock News on Sunday night.

The biggest names in para-athletics have been in action tonight

as the World Championships get under way at the London Stadium.

Hannah Cockroft extended her undefeated streak

Our sports correspondent Andy Swiss reports on the action.

Five years on from the Paralympics here, same stadium, different

This will be the biggest World Para-Athletics ever - 250,000

tickets sold, more than the last seven championships combined, and

Hannah Cockroft is the closest thing to a racing certainty, but in

At the top of the screen, her 16-year-old team-mate led the way.

Hurricane Hannah, though, eventually lived up to her nickname, storming

It confirmed Cockroft's status as one of sport's

She has every title at every distance.

I think, going round the warm up laps, I was getting a bit emotional.

We haven't had that since London 2012,

and just to be able to go in, put a good performance in, it just means

so much, and hopefully, it's a sign of a good

Some battle, then, but the British team is off to a golden start.

Yes, a successful first evening for the British team, and there should

be plenty more success over the next nine days, with stars like Jonnie

Peacock, Richard Whitehead and Kadeena Cox, a real chance to revive

the feel-good factor of London 2012. Rita.

Tennis - and Roger Federer is on course to win a record

eighth Wimbledon title, after making it

He beat Tomas Berdych in straight sets to seal a place

He'll face Croatia's Marin Cilic in the final on Sunday.

There is a man transported around the All-England Club as if he was

This is what Wimbledon looked like in 1998.

That teenager, the junior singles champion.

ANNOUNCER: Roger Federer from Switzerland.

Back then, your phone may well have been at home, and your

The world changes, but Federer's appeared

timeless, his appeal spanning nations and generations.

Sure, nobody's perfect, but nobody's seemed closer.

His semifinal against Tomas Berdych was classic Federer -

a tight match against a strong opponent, where Federer always just

At 35, he's rationed his tournaments, conserved

his energy, to enable him to win points like this.

The first two sets both went to tie-breaks.

When he wants to, Federer can just turn a

COMMENTATOR: It's just delicious, isn't it?

Berdych had beaten Federer here before, reached the final here

It was 6-4 in the third, and the number of sets

Federer has lost at this year's Wimbledon?

So, Roger Federer, through, and that is popular on the

But there is still a man standing between Federer and that

Marin Cilic of Croatia, who overcame Sam Querrey today -

And Cilic is an opponent in the final Federer

He's a lovely guy, so I'm happy for him.

Wimbledon finals, and after he crushed me at the US Open a few

years back, where he played lights-out, I hope he's

At 35, could Federer really be getting better?

Well, so far, here, he's been too good for everyone